"Suckers for irrelevancy"

I talk with people regularly about the pitfalls of multitasking. The majority of the time I receive enthusiastic agreement about the productivity downsides of trying to juggle multiple things at the same time.

And yet take even a casual look around our workplaces and roadways.... What do you see? I see plenty of evidence that our actions don't align with what we say we know.

Talking on the phone while trying to look up some information--while driving. Trying to draft an e-mail while having a conversation with someone. Checking messages on a Blackberry while sitting in a training session.

Earlier this year I interviewed Dave Crenshaw, author of The Myth of Multitasking, for my People and Projects Podcast. Dave talked about how we actually switchtask rather than multitask, adding stress and wasted time rather than efficiency when juggling multiple creative tasks.

A new study recently released from Stanford confirms Dave's point. According to Professor Clifford Nass, high multitaskers are "suckers for irrelevancy", easily distracted by the noise that bombards us all every day.

Want to get more done today? Work on focusing on one thing and get it done.

And here's an idea! Check out the video below (but don't check e-mail while doing so)!

Labels: e-mail, Information Technology, multitasking, podcast, time management

posted by Andy at 10:05 AM  

Podcasts: Training You Can't Afford (To Miss!)

Our latest newsletter went out today on the topic of podcasts. If you haven't received yours, I invite you to check it out online.

For those of you who regularly take advantage of podcasts, which are your favorites? Add a comment to this post to share with others.

For those of you who haven't tried podcasts yet, what concerns do you have? What has kept you from taking the next step? I'd love to hear from you.

Labels: e-learning, Information Technology, podcast

posted by Andy at 4:36 PM  

The Tech Disaster Awards

I enjoyed reading Jake Widman's recent article about The Tech Disaster Awards: What You Can Learn from ITs Biggest Project Failures.

Maybe it's just a relief that none of the listed belong to me or any of my clients!

Regardless, the reason I invite you to read it is that even the big failures have lessons that can be drawn from them. Do we really need to be reminded that it's important to know what we're building before we start cutting code?

Apparently so.

Enjoy the article. As a next step, here's a suggestion: Click here (or on the image to the right) to view a related clip from our popular Lipstick on a Pig keynote. Watch for the clip entitled Project Success and Failure. It has some valuable insights to help you and your team understand what leads to project failure (and how to better set your project up for success).

Here's to no Ig Nobel awards in your future!

Labels: crisis, Information Technology, learning, Lipstick on a Pig, project management

posted by Andy at 1:55 PM  

Career Advice from the Top

Part of our leadership development approach is to give participants an opportunity to interact with top level executives. We have found enormous value in getting aspiring leaders face-to-face with people who are sitting in the chair and to learn from their successes and mistakes.

A recent CIO Magazine article shares some career lessons from top IT executives. Regardless of whether or not you are in IT, each of the brief entries provide insights that can be helpful to your career development.

Is it possible we get too comfortable? Or perhaps think we must have our entire career mapped out like a project plan? Is it a good career move to take the hit for a failed project? How important is it to actually be interested--even in love--with what you do? The article shares insights on these topics and more.

Interested in taking your career to the next level? Our Leadership Fast Track Program can be an important next step to prepare you! Click here for details.

Labels: accountability, executives, Information Technology, leadership, managing up, mistakes

posted by Andy at 7:54 AM  

Announcing this year's Omicron IT Executive Development (ITED) Program

It is my pleasure each year to partner with Omicron for their IT Executive Development (ITED) program. I have the privilege of doing the executive coaching and facilitating one of the workshops in the program.

Are you an IT professional in the greater Chicago area and want to take your career to the next level? Do you have some people on your IT staff who are promising leaders?

The ITED program "prepares future IT leaders today". I invite you to join us! Details at http://www.omicron-usa.com/executive.php

Labels: Information Technology, leadership

posted by Andy at 3:45 PM